HuffPo: Guns Are ‘The Ultimate Public Health Crisis,’ Howard Dean Tells Democratic Convention
Via the Huffington Post:
Guns are “the ultimate public health crisis” and “stunt children’s growth,” Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont, proclaimed to a cheering crowd at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday.
The American Medical Association agrees with Dean. But such a bold gun-control message is notable at the Democratic convention — especially one that is nominating Hillary Clinton for president — and it shows how much the party has changed.
Some delegates at the convention in Philadelphia said they welcomed attention to the issue.
“Guns have been a public health crisis for a very long time and should be treated as such,” said Adrian Mapp, a Clinton delegate from New Jersey. “Guns have no place in our neighborhoods, on our streets, and it is time that at both the local and the national level that there be comprehensive gun reform and that our elected members of Congress do what must be done in order to rid our communities of weapons of mass destruction, which have created a public health hazard.”
Martha Allen, a Sanders delegate from Vermont, criticized her state’s lax gun laws. “We are losing too many people to guns, either because they are imprisoned and turn into having mental health issues once they’re in jail, or people are being killed or maimed,” she said.
Paul Huntley, a Sanders delegate from California, said he wanted “common-sense solutions to the problem that include gun-safety legislation, maybe looking at smart guns, trigger locks and restricting the use of military-style rifles.”
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